Bitez
by KingBlueberryPearl
Summary: A series of one-shots or something stupid like that based around the various phases of Noodle and her band mates. Rated T for Murdoc
1. Chapter 1

It was day, she only knew that from the sun shining though the holes in the crate. She just wished she had a way to know what time it was. It could've been 10:00 AM, or 4:00 PM and she wouldn't know the difference. Not that it mattered really, what good was time when you had no where to be? Or maybe she did have somewhere to be. She always seemed to be moving, but she didn't really know to where.

She let out a small groan hearing her stomach growl. She has finished whatever food rations she had a few days ago, and was starting to run out of water on top of that. She was starving, confused, and arguably a little scared she was going to die in a box.

Suddenly, everything jerked to a halt and she held the edges of the crate to stop herself from smacking her face against the wooden wall. It had already happened a few times before. It was quiet, save for the sounds of thunder, odd when did it get stormy? She muttered something quietly to herself, before hearing what sounded like a door opening.

"What the bloody 'ell is this?" It was a deep, raspy voice. Like someone who had just woken up. She didn't understand a word they said, but they didn't sound friendly. "AYE, FACEACHE! YOU ORDER SOMETHIN'?"

There was another moment of silence before she heard a squeakier, more timid sounding voice. "I ain't or'er nofin', maybe it 'as Russel... Awful big crate, though." She heard a knock on the outside of the box. "Maybe he got some new drums o' somefin'."

Confused, she knocked on the box as well, in the same way the second voice had. She heard both voices shout in either fear or confusion, and scrunched her face. Did they not know she was in there? She knocked again, and heard the first voice yell something before it left. Soon there was yet another new voice.

"What the hell are you guys doin' out here? What's that?"

"We don-we don' know! B-But there's somefin' in there! It w-was knockin' on the inside!"

"Out of the way, dullards!" She heard the first voice once again, then yelped when an axe made its way through the front of the crate. She shrunk down trying to hide in the corner as she heard the third voice yell.

"What the hell is the matter with you, man! Somethin' might be alive in there!" She heard a groan and soon found herself blinded by natural light as the front of the crate was removed. "Holy shit, man, it's a kid!" She let out a small whine looking at the figure in front of her.

He was a fat, bald, black man, and compared to her, he was huge. She coward more into the corner as two more bodies made their way into her veiw. A tall blue haired man who seemed to have no eyes, and a green looking man with greasy black hair. They were are staring at her with mixed expression, and it made her nervous.

"Anatahadare?! Koko wa doko?!" She shouted, but got no answers. They all just looked at each other. "Kaitō!" It didn't seem like they could understand, and it made her even more nervous.

It wasn't until the blue haired one tried to touch her that she got up, grabbing the guitar she had been left with, and slammed it into his face, knocking him back with a cry of pain. "Watashi ni furenaide kudasai!" The other two raised their hands in defense and she glared at them.

"Okay so we have a karate kid with a guitar. What should we do with her?" The bigger man looked to the green man, who seemed to be thinking.

Then he turned his attention back to her. "You know 'ow to play that guitar, kid?" He asked, and one he got nothing but a stare, he groaned and pointed to the instrument. "Play the bloody thing! Stupid li'l..." He muttered something that she didn't quite catch, and stared at the instrument in her hand. What about it? Did he want her to give it to him? She went to hand him the guitar and got nothing but a face palm from the man.

"I don' fink she speaks English, Murdoc..." The tall man had gotten back up, only to bend down to her level, and waved. "'ello, li'l luv... Sorry I scared ya..." She only tilted her head. "Uhm... You go' a name?" When he got only silence again, he clicked his tongue. "...I'm 2-D."

"Tooo..." She knitted her brows together trying to make sence of what he was saying. "Hmm..."

"My name is 2-D." He repeated a little slower.

"Toochie." She repeated back, getting a smile from 2-D.

"Yeah! 'at's my name! Wha' 'bout you? Wha's your name?" He tried to speak slowly so she would understand and after a long moment of silence she smiled.

"Nūdoru!" She shouted. "Noodle!"

"Noodle? What kinda stieupid name is that?" The green man huffed, only to get kicked in the shin by the bigger man.

"Noodle! Noodle!" She chanted, jumping up and down. "Watashinonamaeha... Noodle!"

"Nice to meet you, Noodle." The bigger man also knelt down to her height. "I'm Russel."

"Anata wa namaedesu...!" She looked at him. "Rasseru!"

"Eh... Not quite kid... Rus-sel."

"Hai! Rasseru! Rus-all."

"No not... Forget it, close enough." He gave a smile and she returned it with a toothy grin. He then pointed to the green man. "He's Murdoc."

"Mur-doc..." She glared at him a little. "Watashi wa Mur-doc ga sukide wanai..."

"What is she sayin' 'bout me?!" Murdoc growled taking a step towards the young girl. "Say it to my face, you li'l shit!" He jab her in the chest with finger.

"Watashi wa shimasen. Suki. Anata no kao." She retorted, and 2-D pulled her back a little. "Minikui midori hito..." She crossed her arm.

"She's jus' a chil' Muds. Doe'n' know no be'er." 2-D stated plainly and Murdoc growled and headed back inside. 2-D looked back down and the Noodle, and gave a small smile. "You mus' be starvin', love. You look stick thin!" She blinked, staring up at him, and he nearly smacked himself. "Oh righ'... Can' speak English..." He looked at Russel, who thought for a moment.

"Bring her inside, 'D. Let's see if we can get some food in this kid."

The singer nodded, taking Noodle's hand, and lead the small girl into the building. She looked at her new surroundings as she was brought into the kitchen. She gave as small shrug and decided that if this place was her new home, so be it.

It was much better than the box.


	2. Chapter 2

"Īe! Watashi wa furo ga hoshikunai!" Noodle kicked her feet as she tried to worm her way out of Russel's hold on her. "Īe! Īe! Īe!"

It had been a few days since the small guitarist had arrived, and it had just donged on them that this girl probably hadn't had a bath in days, maybe even weeks, and while the boys were no strangers to bad hygiene, they all still bathed at least once a week. The problem was that Noodle didn't want a bath, and had to be physically brought to the bathroom when she refused to move.

"You're only making it worse on yourself, girl." Russel smiled as the child gave a small huff. "It's not like it's life threatanin'. Just a quick wash. You'll feel better after."

"Oroka..." She muttered in response as she was finally set down on the bathroom floor where 2-D was leaning over a tub full of water. "Toochie!" Her yell startled the blue haired singer and he turned back around to look at Noodle.

"Oh... rea'y fo' yo' baf, Noodle?" He smiled, but only got a glare in return. "Ah... Wha's wrong, love?"

"Watashi wa furo ga hoshikunai." She repeated for maybe the tenth time in the past thirty minutes. 2-D tilted his head and she squinted in thought, trying to remember the English words to state her protest. "Ah... No... Want bath." She stated, which only made the singer laugh.

"Yeah, I di'n' much like bafs neifer as a kid. But ya go'a take one." He leaned down near Noodle and sniffed. "Ya kinda smell, real bad."

Noodle puffed out her cheeks and crossed her arms. "No bath."

"Wha' if I took it wif ya? Woul' tha' help?"

"Dude no..." Russel gave 2-D a strange look. "She's ten and you're like twenty or somethin', that's just weird."

"Wha? No i's not! Me mum use' to take bafs wif me as a kid!"

"Yeah, but that's your mom, not some girl you've only known for a week."

"Well yeah, but isn' it the same kin'a thing?"

"No! You can't just take a bath with a ten year old, 'D, I can't believe I have to explain that..." Russel went into a mutter as he left the bathroom, thinking maybe he could bribe Noodle into the bath somehow.

"I was jus' tryin' to 'elp, mate!" 2-D shifted then looked back at Noodle. "Come on, love, i'll be a lo' easier if you do this yo'self."

She stuck her tongue out at the bluenette, then turned her head away as Murdoc entered the bathroom as well.

"What are you doing in 'ere, Faceache?" He moved his eyes from the bath, to the angry kid standing beside the sink. Then he realized. "Tryin' to give the brat a bath, eh?" When the singer nodded, Murdoc scrunched his nose. "Only one way to give a kid a bath." He then picked up Noodle and threw her into the tub of not freezing but cold enough to be uncomfortable water, causing a scream from the youngest band member.

"Dōshite son'na koto o shimashita?!" Noodle yelled as Murdoc took the helmet off her head and duncked her underwater completely. 2-D screamed as well and ran to get Russel, hoping the drummer could calm the situation. Of course this left Murdoc with an angry and now soaking wet Noodle.

The Englishman dumped a blob of shampoo on the kid's head and did his best to work it in as the small girl fought against him. "'old still ya li'l twit..." He mutter. "Who doesn' like a bath? Weirdo..." He dunked her under the water again, and held her head under to rinse the shampoo out. Noodle kicked her feet and flailed her arms, which only splashed water around the bathroom and pissed Murdoc off more. "If you don't stop, I'll leave ya under!"

"What are you doin', man?! You're gonna drown the kid!" Russel pushed the satanist out of the way, and 2-D stood at the door watching the scene unfold. "She ain't a damn fish!"

"Will you relax, she's _fine_." Noddle sat up in the tub coughing and trying to get the water out of her eyes while sputtering different nonsense in Japanese. "See? No sense cryin' over a soggy Noodle." Murdoc laughed and the girl climbed out of the water and kicked him in the shin. "Augh! Stupid little..." He shook his fist at her, but settle for leaving the room and muttering when the drummer glared at him.

"Ībirugurīndoragon." She crossed her arms starting to shiver. "Noodle... Uhm... Cold." She looked up at Russel with a sad face. Her clothes were soaked, and they all knew she didn't have any spares yet. They really needed to go shopping for this kid.

"I know, kid." Russel wrapped a towel around the small guitarist. "'D, go get a shirt or somethin'." The singer nodded and rushed off to his room to find a shirt that wouldn't be overly huge. "A'ight, you dry yourself off, girl. I'll be outside the door if you need me."

With that Russel left the room, closing the door behind him, leaving Noodle to herself. The ten year old tossed her wet clothes on the floor and dried herself with the towel. At the very least she was clean, even if she wasn't very happy about it. She noticed the door open a little and 2-D's hand holding out a shirt and a pair of shorts for her.

She tried the shorts on but there was no way they were going to fit her, so she tossed them with her wet clothes and strolled out of the bathroom in the shirt. It was one of 2-D's old shirts so it fit a little better but it still covered the short girl's feet and hands. "Sore wa ōki sugiru." She lifted up her arms showing off the long sleeves that trapped her hands in the shirt. 2-D and Russel smiled.

"You look so cu'e, Noods!" The skinny bluenette picked Noodle up and sniffed her hair. "Smell much be'er too!"

"Just don't fight so much, girl. Or we're gonna have to just spray you with the hose, instead." Russel chuckled and ruffles the girl's hair, but she only tilted her head at him trying to understand what he said. "Eh... Never mind... C'mon, let's get you lunch and we'll get you some clothes later."

"Hai!" She smiled at the thought of lunch. Now that she wasn't fighting Murdoc, she was starving.


	3. Chapter 3

The band pilled into the geep, ready to head out. They were finally going to buy Noodle more clothes. It wasn't really a task all the boys needed to be there for, but Murdoc was the only one who could drive, Russel didn't trust Murdoc with Noodle after the whole bathing incident, and 2-D just didn't want to be alone at the studio. Noodle was kicking her feet, sitting in the back of the car next to Russel, while 2-D sat in the front with Murdoc.

Now the geep wasn't the safest car, for from it really. There was no roof or seatbelts, just a bar going across the middle that would keep you in the vehicle, as long as you could hold on to it anyway. As they were on the road, Noodle decided she wanted to stand, and while Russel had his head turned away, she stood up on the seat, grabbing hold of the metal bar. The wind hitting her face caused her to laugh, catching Russel's attention. He nearly had a heart attack.

"Noodle! Noodle sit down before you fall!" He grabbed onto the girl's waist. "You're gonna get hurt, kid!"

"Shikashi, sore wa tanoshīdesu!" Noodle laughed as Murdoc an 2-D faced the scene as well.

"Wha' are you doin'?!" 2-D, in a panic turned around in his seat grabbing onto her arms. "Noods, this is no' okay, you 'ave to sit!"

While the two boys were panicing, Murdoc just smiled, keeping his eyes on the road. Noodle took one hand off the bar, which caused more of a scene and to the people on the streets it looked insane. They were lucky no one called the police, though they probably should have.

By the time they were at the mall, 2-D and Russel were exhausted from their near heart attacks. Meanwhile Noodle bounced out of the geep and waited for the boys. She was excited, mostly to be going somewhere that wasn't inside Kong. The boys hadn't really taken her anywhere yet. Maybe because they just didn't get out much, or maybe they were nervous, she didn't really know. It didn't change her attitude either way.

One by one they got out of the geep, Russel took one of Noodle's hands and 2-D took the other. Murdoc locked the vehicle and they headed inside. While trying to find a clothing store, the satanist set out on his own accord. Most likely to hit on whatever girls he could find, or buy another lighter. They spied a kids' clothing store and brought Noodle in to let her look around.

"this is cu'e, Noods." 2-D held up a pink t-shirt with some kind of flower.

Noodle stared at it, then shook her head and started searching through things herself, while the boys tried to help. After maybe an hour she had maybe three shirts and two new pairs of shorts. Satisfied that it was more then nothing, they paid for the clothing and stepped outside the store, where Russel announced he was going to try and track down Murdoc and told 2-D to watch Noodle.

"Aligh'. Jus' you an' me. 2-D an' Noodle, hangin' out li'e dudes do." 2-D smiled, but Noodle just tilted her head in confusion. "Ehm... le's go get some food, love..." He took hold of her hand and lead her towards the food court. "Wha' are you wan'in' to eat? I could go for some pizza myself..."

She blinked. She wasn't very hungry at the moment, but if 2-D was happy, who was she to argue? As they approached the pizza stand, 2-D let go of Noodle, confidant she would stay beside him. He thought over his choices, tapping his foot, as Noodle looked over her surroundings, until a toy store caught her eye. She looked back at 2-D, who was talking to the worker. Not wanting to interrupt 2-D while he was ordering his food, and figuring he'd be able to see her anyway, she made her way over to the store, humming a small tune.

It was a bigger store than she had expected it to be. But that didn't stop her from looking around at the board games and stuffed animals. At one point she found a cute cat plush that she'd have to tell 2-D about, best she could with her minimal knowledge of English, and hope he'd buy it for her. She spent maybe ten or fifteen minutes inside the store before heading to go find 2-D again. It was then Noodle realized her mistake.

The mall was crowded, and she couldn't see 2-D at all. "Toochi?" She chewed the inside of her lip as she looked for any sign of him. "Russel? Hmm... Mur-doc?" She wandered into the swarm of people, nervously playing with her hands. People pushed past her and shoved her if she didn't move in time. She just quietly apologized and kept walking, getting more nervous every minute.

Maybe they had left her here? No, they wouldn't. Well, Murdoc might, but 2-D and Russel wouldn't. Would they? No. She didn't know, and the anxiety made her want to cry. She kept wiping her eyes, not wanting to cry in a mall full of strangers. "Karera wa doko ni iru..." It didn't help she couldn't read any of the signs, either. Every time she thought she found one of the band members, she lost them again.

She was sniffling, wiping her nose on one sleeve while trying to dry her face from tears with the other. People were starting to stare at her too, which didn't help. She was getting ready to give up.

"How do you lose a kid?!"

Noodle turned her head towards the noise. "Mur-doc?" She sniffled again, and ran towards the yelling.

"I-I di'n' mean too, I jus' looked away for a second an' she was gone!" 2-D covered his face as Murdoc smacked him. "I'm sorry!"

"Man, I told you to keep an eye on her." Russel pinched the bridge of his nose.

"It's not my faul' she decided to go off by herself!" The singer threw his arms in the air.

Murdoc went to smack him again, but Noodle ran into him and knocked him to the floor. "Dammit, get off me!" Noodle wipe her nose on his shirt, and he pushed her off. "Eugh..." He gave her a glare, she gave him a smile.

"Where were you, Noods?! I looked away for two seconds, an' you were gone!" 2-D picked Noodle up from under her arms so he could look at her face, mostly to see if she had been hurt. A few dry tears and a runny nose, but nothing that seemed too bad.

"Watashi wa omocha no mise ni ita." She looked down. "Watashi ga dete kita toki, watashi wa anata o mitsukeru koto ga dekimasendeshita... Noodle, ah... so-ry..."

"Awe... s'aw'righ', love... Jus'... don' go wanderin' wifou' us."

"Next time, she's stayin' with me..." Russel muttered.

They were all glad Noodle was safe. Noodle promised to stay next to the boys whenever they went out, not that she ever had the chance to run off anyway. Russel always kept an eye on her from then on, until she was a teenager and got a little more freedom, and 2-D was never put in charge of watching her in public again.


	4. Chapter 4

"We're going out."

"So?"

"So, you gotta watch Noodle."

Murdoc groaned, and looked over at Russel from his spot on the couch. "Can't you just take her with you? An R rated movie never killed a kid..."

"No, we can't, and because you aren't allowed at the theater anymore, you're gonna watch her." Russel's eyes narrowed. "It's not that hard, she's a good kid."

He wasn't wrong. In the month Noodle had been there she really wasn't that much trouble. She was usually content scribbling on paper in her room, so it wasn't as if she'd be hard to watch. Murdoc just didn't want to be held accountable if something happened.

"Russel! We're gonna be la'e!" 2-D walked into the room, Noodle close behind holding a marker.

"What the hell is on your arm, 'D?" Russel started at the peace sign drawn on the singer's forearm.

"Noodle drew it on for me! It's neat innit? Li'e a temp ta'oo." He pat the girl's head. "Anyway, we go'a go if we're gonna ma'e it."

"Okay, Okay. We'll see you two later." The drummer pulled Noodle into a hug, which she returned. "Murdoc remember to watch her."

Murdoc muttered and watched the two leave, putting his feet up on the coffee table. Noodle climbed onto the couch next to him, and stared. It was a little unnerving, five minutes of nothing but silence between the two, and Noodle intensely staring at Murdoc.

"What do you want?" He looked over at the kid, who then pointed to the remote.

"Ah, uh, watch... Poke-e-mon?"

"No, I'm watching somethin'."

Noodle looked confused, and turned her head to the tv, it wasn't even on. She looked back at Murdoc who turned it on and switched it to the news. "Oh..." She pouted a little and slid off the couch heading back to her room to draw. She didn't feel like fighting with Murdoc.

Good, he got her to leave. At least this way he wouldn't have to actually deal with her, which he felt was better anyway. Murdoc didn't know anything about kids, it was stupid to make him watch Noodle. Kid could probably take care of herself anyway, she isn't a baby. He didn't notice but at some point he had started to doze off on the couch. He almost fell asleep completely, but a tug on his shirt made him sit up. He looked down to see Noodle once again, who stared back at him.

Letting out a groan, he rubbed his eyes. "What?"

"Noodle... Ah, hun-gary." She put a hand over her stomach as it growled.

"I don't care, go get yourself food." When she kept staring, he rolled his eyes. "You can get your own bloody food."

"Russel, uhm... Russel ma-"

"I don't care!" He pushed her away from him. She almost looked hurt. "Just... You're a big girl, right?" Noodle looked down for a second, but then nodded. "Well, big girls make their own food."

"But-"

"Go be a big girl." He pushed her off in the direction of the kitchen and after a moment of nothing, she made her way into the kitchen. Satisfied, Murdoc went back to trying to sleep.

Noodle sighed, standing in the kitchen, she had hoped Murdoc would at least help her make something. Not that she couldn't handle making a sandwich or something herself, but it would have been nice. Well, she was still hungry, and standing around wasn't going to feed her.

It was fine. For a short ten minutes it was fine. Then there was a loud crash from the kitchen and Murdoc jumped. "What the hell?" With a grunt he got up from the couch and made his way to the kitchen. "Noodle! What did you do?" He rubbed his eyes and looked at the mess in the kitchen. Noodle had broken a few dishes, by accident of course, while trying to grab a plate. From what he could tell she had been standing on one of the old chairs and a leg gave out, which left Noodle sniffling on the floor in the middle of the mess, holding her nose.

"Gomen'nasai! Sumimasen... Watashi wa sōde wa arimasendeshita." She muttered.

"You-Ugh..." Murdoc walked over and lifted her off the ground. "What happened?"

"Isu ga kowarete, wata-" She cut herself off, remembering Murdoc didn't understand Japanese, and did her best to explain in English. "Uuhh... Need plate... Noodle too short... Uhm... Chair... Use to reach, break. Hurt Noodle." She pointed at the counter with one hand, the other still holding her nose.

"Ah, smashed your face off the counter." He set her on the table. "Move your hand, I need to see if your nose is broken." She whined but moved her hand away, and her eyes widened at the sight of her own blood on her hand. "That's a bad nose bleed, Noodle. You might bleed out." She seemed on the verge of crying, and Murdoc felt a little guilty. "Hey, I-I'm kidding. You'll be fine. Just... It doesn't look broken at least, so that's good, right?"

She wiped her nose with her hand, which only spread the blood around her face. Murdoc made a face and handed her a box of tissues. "Put two in your nose." She stared at the box for a second, before doing as he had instructed while he grabbed some ice and dumped it into a bag. He then gently pressed it against the girl's nose, which made her whine again. "I know, it sucks. But keep that there, it'll help."

Noodle held the ice to her nose with her clean hand as Murdoc grabbed a wash cloth and started wiping the blood off her face.

Murdoc was lost in his thoughts for a minute. He didn't really know what prompted him to help the small guitarist. Maybe it was because seeing her sniffle in such a pathetic way, sitting on the floor, made him cringe. He refused to believe he was actually starting to like this kid. He only felt bad for her. He tossed the cloth in the sink when he was done cleaning her face. "Guess you still need food..."

She watched him walk over to the fridge, pull out a jar of peanut butter and jelly mix, and soon he handed her a sandwich. Her eyes lit up and she took it with her free hand. "Arigatō, Murdoc!" She grinned at him, before starting to eat.

Murdoc had never really noticed, but Noodle ate like a starving animal. As if she wouldn't eat for another week and she didn't want anything to take it away before she could finish. It was kind of sad. It also wasn't that surprising, she never ate much in a day. He made a mental note about it, to discuss later with 2-D and Russel. She needed to eat more than breakfast and whatever lunch or dinner they make for her.

Not that he really cared, of course.

"Uh... Noodle?" The guitarist looked up at him, finishing the last bite of her sandwich. "...Do you wanna watch your cartoon?"

"Poke-e-mon!" Noodle slid off the table and ran to the living room with Murdoc following.

When 2-D and Russel came home, they had prepared for the worst. They expected Noodle to run over to greet them, and tell on Murdoc for doing something he shouldn't of. They had expected a lot, but not this.

Murdoc was asleep on the couch, one arm hanging off the side, and the other securely around a sleeping Noodle, who still had tissues shoved up her nose, the tv still on playing some cartoon. 2-D made a small 'awwe' sound, and took a photo of the sleeping pair. Russel, content that everything seemed relatively fine (he'd have to ask why Noodle had tissues in her nose later, though), made his way into the kitchen. Then he saw the mess.

"What the hell happened in here?!"


	5. Chapter 5

"Guys! Guys!" 2-D rushed into the living room, holding a sheet of paper in his hand. Russel and Murdoc both glared at him from their spots on the red sofa.

"What is it, 'D?"

"Noodle! Her birfday is tomorrow, I forgot all abou' it!"

"Wow, 2-D. How could you forget about somethin' sooo important..." Murdoc huffed, and rolled his eyes. "Just get the kid a card, who cares about her birthday."

"I jus' fink we should ge' her a cake or somefin', though..."

"Why are you making such a big deal about it? The kid's turning eight, so what?"

"Ten, Muds..." Russel shook his head. "She's gonna be ten."

"I still don't see the big deal. How do you even know her birthday, Faceache?"

"Well, I dug frough the cra'e she came in before we tossed it. This was in there, forgo' abou' it till now... but it's go' her birfdate on it!" He held out the paper, and Russel took it from him.

It wasn't really a birth certificate, just basic information. None of which Russel could really read due to it all being in Japanese. But it did have a birth date and he gave a satisfied nod.

"Kinda freaky havin' a birthday on Halloween." He commented to himself, then looked to Murdoc. "But 'D's right, we should get her some kind of present and a cake."

"Ugh, fine..." Murdoc stood. "Let's go get this brat a present..."

Off the boy went to the mall. 2-D was thinking to himself about what to get Noodle. He knew she liked stuff like Pokemon. Maybe he could get her a game. Yeah, that seemed like a good thing to get her. She didn't have much to do at Kong besides laze around with the boys and color, when they weren't practicing anyway. A Gameboy could be just what she needed.

When they got to the large shopping mall, they split up and agreed to meet back at the geep in an hour. Russel went off to get a cake, 2-D went to get whatever present he was gonna get, and Murdoc... Well Murdoc just walked around the mall. It was covered in Halloween decoration, which he just sneered at. It may have seemed odd, but the satanist didn't like Halloween very much. He never really had any good experiences with it.

Time went by slowly but they all met back at the geep as planned. Russel had the cake, and 2-D had a few things in his plastic bag from the game store.

"Man, did you really not get the kid anything? Not even like a card?" Russel raised an eyebrow at the bassist.

"Why would I? That kid's done nothin' for me."

"She saved our band." 2-D pointed out.

"I mean what has she done for me lately?"

2-D and Russel shared a look, then just shook their head. They were never going to understand Murdoc's logic on how a kid owed him anything.

The next morning 2-D was told to go wake up Noodle for breakfast. He almost didn't want to wake up the small girl. She looked adorable, curled up in her sheets with the cat plushie she had gotten a few weeks back. Just content with her life, it felt good to know they were doing a decent job raising this kid.

"Noods?" He knelt beside the sleeping child, and lightly pushed her.

"Watashi wa nete... mimashou..." She groaned, but he only pushed her again, until she open her eyes. "Mmm... Toochi...?"

"Hey. Happy birfday, love." He smiled as Noodle sat up and rubbed her eyes.

"O tanjōbi... ?" Her brain was too tired to translate anything. But she finally processed what he said as she ran her hands through her messy head of hair. "Oh... ah, arigatō." She gave a tired smile of her own.

"We got you a cake. I fink it's chocolate... I hope you li'e that... But first Russel is makin' pancakes for breakfast. Then you can open your present. Sound good?"

"Hai!" She stood and jumped into 2-D's arms. She still wore that over sized shirt he gave her after Murdoc almost killed her in the bathtub. She used it as a night shirt, not that it mattered to 2-D. It was pretty old anyway and he never wore it.

He stood up holding the newly ten year old and headed downstairs. She had her chin resting on his shoulder. Noodle liked 2-D. He was comforting to be around, and he smelled like cologne and cigarettes. She did like the others, but 2-D was probably her best friend.

"Ani..." She smiled leaning herself against him.

"Wha's that, love?"

"Toochi... Noodle ani, uhm... brother, yeah?"

He looked down at her, a little confused, but gave a nod. "Okay. Sure, I'll be your brofer." He already felt the need to protect the child. That's what brothers did, right? He never had any siblings of his own, but he silently vowed to be the best brother.

Noodle nearly fell asleep while he was carrying her, just before she did 2-D set her down in a chair at the kitchen table. She let out a yawn as Russel put a stack of pancakes in front of her. They learned fast that she really loved them, for whatever reason, but they didn't make them often. Mostly because there was almost always a mess from the way the small girl ate.

"Happy birthday, kid." Russel gave her a gentle pet on the head.

"We should take you ou' trick o' trea'in' tonigh', too! It is Halloween." 2-D smiled, grabbing his own pancakes. "We could ma'e you into a mummy o' somefin'." He grabbed a seat next to Noodle and started to eat. "Afraid we don' have much for costumes..."

"Hmm...?" She paused half way through devouring the pancakes and tilted her head at 2-D.

"Y'know, goin' door to door and askin' for candy." Russel explained, but she just stared at him, confused. "I'm guessin' you've never done that before, then..."

"Mm-mmm..." She shook her head and went back to shoving the pancakes in her mouth.

The two boys were a little surprised. What kid didn't go trick or treating? Maybe because it was on her birthday her parents never bothered. If she even had parents.

"Oh, I'll give you your present!" 2-D got up from his seat, placing his plate in the sink, and ran to get the present.

By the time he got back Russel was trying to wash the syrup from Noodle's face with a washcloth. "Girl, I'm never gonna understand how you make such a mess..."

She only grinned at him as 2-D slid the badly wrapped present over to her. "Here, Noods. Wrapped it myself."

She picked it up staring at the bright colored paper, and did her best to unwrap it without tearing it. Not that it mattered, the wrapping paper was pretty wrinkled and torn before she even got her hands on it. Her eyes lit up at the handheld game. 2-D had gotten a red Gameboy Color, along with a few different games for it. She was mostly drawn to the two Pokemon games, yellow and crystal, which wasn't a surprise. She stood from her chair and hugged 2-D.

"Arigatō!"

The singer smiled. "I figured you'd wan' somfin' else to do around here. I'm glad you li'e it, love."

"Hai!" She took one of the Pokemon games and, after examining the small console and a little help from Russel and 2-D, put the game in and started it. It was funny how quickly she got entranced by the game. She played for a solid hour before Murdoc came down and cleared his throat. "Ah! Murdoc. Uh... Good morning."

"No morning is good, love..." He stated, getting a mug of coffee. "Happy birthday."

"Arigatō." Noodle smiled at the bassist, swinging her feet. "Russel say... We have cake later."

"I'm not a big fan of cake." He leaned against the kitchen counter, taking a sip of his coffee. "I see Faceache gave you a present."

She nodded, showing him her roster of Pokemon. "Pokemon."

"I see that... Guess I should give you my present too, eh?" She looked at him, now more interested. "C'mon. It's in the Winnie..." He walked out of the kitchen, and Noodle quickly followed.

She hadn't expected to get anything from Murdoc. She didn't even think he'd remember her birthday. She still didn't expect much, but it was nice knowing he got some something. With a hum from the small guitarist they stood in the lift and made their way to the parking garage (Something completely unnecessary considering they only had the geep and the Winnebago). Noodle never quite understood why Murdoc stayed down here. It seemed cold an lonely.

Then again, he usually had a girl around that Noodle would run into during the night. They always ask if she was Murdoc's daughter or how she knew him or something like that. Her answer never really mattered, seeing as she almost never saw the same woman more than once, but she usually just said 'no' and that she 'came here in a box'. Which sometimes made the girls laugh and pat her head, and others just gave her a look of concern. She didn't really realize how weird it must of sounded.

Noodle was brought out her her thoughts when the lift stopped. She followed Murdoc over to his Winnie and he told her to wait. She heard him moving things around and muttering to himself. She debated on going in to see what he doing exactly but he kicked the door to the Winnie open.

Her eyes widened. Murdoc had got her a sonic blue Fender Mustang. She squealed and took the new guitar from the bassist, putting the strap on and playing a few notes. She did a similar solo to the one she had done when they first discovered she could play the guitar. It was like her way her testing things. The small girl had never felt so excited, and Murdoc laughed watching her jump and play.

When she finally finished she turned back to Murdoc and hugged him tight. "Murdoc, hontōni arigatō! Daisukidesu! Watashi wa mainichi sore o purei shimasu! Arigatōgozaimashita!" Noodle grinned.

"Uhh, your welcome...?" The satanist awkwardly gave her a pat on the head. He assumed she was saying good things. That's what it sounded like, anyway. "Happy birthday, love. Now why don't you go show the others your new guitar."

He watched Noodle nod and skip back over to the lift, holding the guitar tightly to her body as if the strap would break. Murdoc ran a hand through his hair. How could this kid make him go so damn soft?

He figured that didn't matter, he just had to think up a better gift for next year.

* * *

A/N: So, in honor of Noodle turning 28 on Halloween (holy shit) I did a birthday thing. Kinda early but whatever. The Fender Mustang looked like a good fit for her phase 1 guitar that she used a lot. I figured it'd be cute if she used it a lot because Murdoc gave it too her.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: I'm having writers block with everything right now so take this little thing I thought was funny.

* * *

"Noodle, what did you do?"

"Nothing." Was the response Russel got when he questioned the young teen. An obvious lie, she was covered in, what he assumed, was flower. Which meant she had been in the kitchen trying to bake, which was not exactly a good thing when the kid couldn't even see over the counter yet. He pushed past the small child, who tapped her fingers together nervously.

When he stepped into the kitchen, he was shocked, to say the least. Flour was everywhere, a long with an over flowing sink and some kind of batter leaked from an over turned bowl on the floor. How did a kid cause this much of a mess in the ten minutes it took him to walk down from his room? It was insane!

"Noodle Hobbs!" He turned to the girl, who had already ran off, leaving a trail of flour. "When I find you, you're grounded!"

* * *

Smoking was something Noodle had taken up around a year ago. She didn't do it often, and the guys had no idea, but every now and then she'd sneak out back and light a cigarette. She didn't have her own, so she normally stole a pack from Murdoc's Winnie. It wasn't like he was counting them, anyway. She couldn't wait until she could buy her own, though.

Four more years...

She took a drag from the cigarette and gave a sigh and and exhale. It was nice and sunny outside, warm. Probably a little too warm for her long sleeve shirt, but whatever.

"Noodle Pot!" The guitarist jumped, and dropped her cigarette as she turned her head. 2-D stood in the door way, arms crossed over his chest. "Are you smokin' ou' 'ere?! You're way too young fo' tha'!"

Now 2-D used to smoke at fourteen, but things had been different then. He was young and stupid, and it was considered 'the cool thing to do', but Noodle was better than that.

"I..." She started, but there really wasn't a point in lying. He may be dense, but he wasn't completely stupid. "Are you going to tell Russel?"

He thought for a moment. Russel would give her a whole lecture if he went and told, and she didn't really need that. "No." He said after a while. "Do you 'ave anymore?" Noodle stared at him for a minute, then sighed and pulled the pack out of her pocket and handed it to him. 2-D smiled, took the pack, and shoved it into his own pocket for later. "Good. Now, eh, I suppose I go'a punish you somehow..." After a second, he looked back at her. "No video games for... ten days."

"What?" She gave him a look of betrayal, the groaned. "Fine, whatever..." With that she headed back inside, muttering to herself.

* * *

"Noodle Niccals." Murdoc shook his head in disappointment as he walked to the geep with the disgruntled teenager. "I can't believe you!"

She rubbed the back of her head. "It wasn't me. It was a group of boys, they-"

"You got arrested!" He shouted as they got into the car. "You're lucky Russel and Faceache didn't find out! They'd throw a damn fit!"

"Sorry..." She muttered, leaning against the door as they took off down the road. Noodle had gotten involved with some group of older teenage boys. Admittedly, she just wanted to impress them before the band carried on with their tour, so she agreed to help them shoplift some petty items. Long story short, she was caught and the boys got off scott free. What bullshit. At least Murdoc was the one to pick her up from the station. He was right, Russel would kill her if he knew and 2-D would be disappointed. "I didn't do anything, though..."

"I believe you."

"Thanks."

"But you're still grounded."

"What?!" She whipped her head around to look at him. "Why?!"

Murdoc laughed. "For getting caught."

* * *

"What would you say is your relationship with the rest of the band?"

The twenty eight year old leaned back in the chair, and looked from her band mates to the interviewer. "As I've said for the past few years, they are like my dads. Crazy, overprotective, stupid, and sometimes asshole dads, but I know I can go to one of them with a certain problem and get a half decent answer." She smiled. "We fight, but what family doesn't?"

"True. Now, as far as we're aware you have no legal last name. When you got in trouble, would they ever make one up or...?"

The smile turned into a mischievous smirk. "Allow me to show you." Leaning forward, she picked up the three half empty coffee cups, and dumped them in the laps of each of the boys. Each one screamed and stood, while the girl sat back and laughed a little with the interviewer.

"Noodle Hobbs-"

"-Pot-"

"-Niccals-"

"-GUITARIST OF GORILLAZ!" The guys shouted in unison. "YOU'RE GROUNDED!"

Noodle grinned. "Let's continue."


End file.
